Most of the people who build their own websites are focused on getting their sites more exposure on search engines without getting penalized. But in order to get more exposure in quick time websites also need the Google crawler to come to them more frequently. There are always certain rules and regulations that one needs to follow for this to happen. Driving on the wrong side of the road is likely to get you into an accident all because you did not follow driving safety rules similar is the case here, unless you follow the rules getting good exposure is very difficult.

So this is something that you need to be mindful of and in order to ensure long term value of your website you have to follow certain SEO tips and Google search engine rules. Apart from this there are certain SEO techniques that you also need to be aware of as they can cause more damage than benefits. “Black Hat” is one of the most frowned upon method of performing SEO. Using these methods though may get you good ranks in quick time but they can ultimately lead to your website getting banned forever if caught by Google. Some characteristics of this unethical method of organic optimizations include-

Not following search engine rules and regulations

Copying content or duplicate content

Creating a poor user experience due to over use of SEO methods on the website

Unethically presenting content in a different visual or non-visual way to search engine spiders and search engine users.

Black Hat SEO is not a recent phenomenon but in fact it was running when Google was first introduced to search engine optimization techniques. But that time Google had not planned for a user or customer using these techniques in a wrong way. This is why when Google launched the Panda update in Feb 2011 millions of sites were shut down. This led to many marketers and even users getting frustrated and then requesting Google to do something about their website, this is when Google decided to launch Disavaow website tool using which one can remove bad links from their website

Many Black Hat SEO methods were once considered actual parts of SEO methodology but now they are frowned upon by majority of the SEO community. This is because these methods were proven to be harmful to site quality and their overall relevancy on SERPs. Though Black Hat SEO can get you high ranks in quick time but these are just short term benefits and if a site owner is discovered using any of these unethical methods it can lead to dire effects. Not only does a site run the risk of being penalized by search engines but this can also lead to decrease in traffic and major drop in search engine rankings.

In a nut shell Black Hat SEO is a short term solution to a long term problem which should be avoided at all costs. The main motto now should be on creating a good website that has some value for the user and gives them a good experience so they can easily find what they came for.

Some major SEO methods that you need to avoid include-

Over use of keywords of keyword stuffing– This is a big no and involves putting long lists of keywords at irrelevant places. This can lead to penalties being incurred by the website

Invisible text– This is a method that involves creating a list of keywords in white text on a white background so that more search engine spiders can be attracted. This is not only a very bad way to attract search engines but it leads to poo user experience as well

Doorway Pages– These are “fake” pages which are not created for the user but only for the purpose of tricking search engines into indexing the site higher. These pages are mostly never seen by the user.

Yes, taking the short, unethical path in SEO is a sure shot way to see success in fast time, but this is just a temporary and harmful solution. A site can definitely rank higher using these methods but if caught it can get banned and incur many other such penalties. Taking such a risk is not worth it for any website and thus, it is always better to use proper SEO methods to help get your site ranked higher. So be ethical be unique and always remember to stay in sync with the guidelines that have been set by search engines.